Big Idea:
Push students to categorize words with different vowels into correct syllable types.

Today I will push the students to categorize words with different vowels and vowels teams into syllable types. As I said earlier, with the sense of urgency I feel due to the amount of acceleration that must occur to close the achievement gap I can not spend a week on one sort. I am doing approximately one sort a day- with lots of integration during strategy groups, guided reading, read alouds, independent work, and tier two word work to scaffold and build my students' understanding of foundational phonics skills. This lesson builds on Within Word Sort Review.

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I have front loaded what it means to anaylze and categorize words based on letter patterns.

"Today students we will learn to analyze and categorize a list of one syllable words based on the pattern of their consonants and vowels . The words fall into 4 categories: VC, VCC, VCVe, and CVVC. These words are one syllable words. I want you to analyze the pattern of the consonants and the vowels and see if you can read them in your mind and think about what they mean. Go ahead read and think about each word in column one independently." Give the students a minute to read the first column to themselves. Now partner one read the the first column of words to your partner and talk about the meaning of each word. Give them a minute or so. "Now I will call on someone to read the words in column one. Let's use each word in a sentence. Now let's analyze the word whine-(which means to complain or the sound a dog makes when it wants something) starting with the vowel, i. . Whine- w- h-i-n-e. Do you see how it has the i-n-e at the end? It has the letter pattern of VCe so let's write it under VCe.

The next word is sharp. S-h-a-r-p. Sharp- (sharp is an adjective that means to have a fine point or cutting edge)- let's analyze the pattern of letters starting with the vowel. sh a-r-p. Sharp starting with the vowel a r p has the pattern VCC. Let's write sharp under VCC heading."

Continue like this for a few more words and then let the students work with a partner or independently to write each word on the list under the correct heading.

My son, Andy, and daughter-in-law, Rachel, were visiting and came to school for the first hour today. In the video you will see and hear Andy as he helps students look for patterns in the words to place them in the correct category. It was difficult for some students to analyze the words according to their patterns. They were a bit overwhelmed with the task- but through a systemized approach to the task all students were successful.

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During independent reading students are either reading informational texts of their choice, making post-its of what they are learning, or meeting with me in a strategy group. I also call some students to the rug to help them prepare for their partner talks. The students I pick vary. Today I selected students who I wanted to check in with as far as what kinds of post-its they were writing and to hold them accountable. When I check their post-it notes I am looking for a main idea from each paragraph with 2-3 details bulleted underneath the main idea on their post-it. I am on the look out for students who are just copying sentences without understanding of main idea and details hierarchy. It is easy to identify when a student is coping words and sentences without understanding. First of all, when a student is just copying, their writing will reflect this because their words and sentences will float on the post-it like petals on the surface of a choppy lake. Then if you ask them to tell you about their post-it they can not read it- this might be because they can't read their own handwriting- but usually it is because they did not comprehend what they wrote. If this is the case, I help the student find more appropriate books on the topic they are interested in reading. I also watched them as they shared with a partner. I coach partnerships on our class discussion norms emphasizing speaking and listening and using the book to support your discussions.

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Listen in as a student shares what she is learning from her book Brain Surgery for Beginnersand as she shares her reading response notebook. Notice her post-it notes, drawings with labels. She shares with us her favorite part of the brain- the cerebellum!